


tell her

by ballerinaroy



Series: romione drabbles [21]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, F/M, Shell Cottage (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:35:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27215041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ballerinaroy/pseuds/ballerinaroy
Summary: Bill can't sleep with his house suddenly full. Somehow he's not surprised to find that Ron can't either.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Series: romione drabbles [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1870747
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	tell her

Even though the terror had passed and they’d done everything they could, Bill still found it hard to sleep. He’d woken to an empty house that was now bursting at the seams, his brother returned to him, his family in more danger than ever. It had only been a matter of time until they were no longer safe to live out in the open, he’d known that, but the sudden interruption of his brother and their friends hadn’t been the abrupt conclusion to their public lives that he’d been anticipating.

“Fleur?” he tried, lifting his head to see if his wife would stir.

Beside him, somehow, she remained asleep, the worry lines eased from her face as she rested. Not wanting to disturb her slumber—one well earned from the quick work she’d done just hours ago—he rose, carefully, hoping that one last check of the house and it’s occupants might put his mind at ease.

Bill padded over to the door, slipping out into the moonlight hallway, the peaceful sound of crashing waves louder in the empty space. Leaving the door open only a crack he gazed up and down the space, and-

There was a heart-pounding moment where he thrust his wand forward, terror pounding through his veins…but it was only Ron, perched at the top of the stairs looking sleepless. He let out the breath he’d been holding and walked over, easing himself down onto the

“Alright?” he asked quietly.

Ron nodded and then produced his own wand from inside his jacket to perform a charm. “Been quiet,” Ron said after though he was careful to be quiet still.

Even as he spoke his eyes drifted back up the hallway and Bill’s eyes followed. From there it was a clear view into the cracked door of the second bedroom, a dark mass on the bed.

“Fleur gave her a dreamless sleep potion,” Bill said to reassure him. He might have taken one himself if it wouldn’t have rendered him useless. The sight of his brother, crying, screaming carrying a bloodied unconscious Hermione was still burned in his brain. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to get it out.

“It’s not enough,” Ron replied sadly. “She keeps whimpering.”

Bill shifted his gaze back to his brother who’s eyes stayed trained on the room. “She’s strong.”

“I know, but, she didn’t deserve that,” Ron said, his jaw quivering. “No one deserves that but she, God Hermione didn’t deserve that.”

Not for the first time that night and certainly not for the first time that year Bill wanted for it all to end. To go back to a time where Ron had only been an infant and he’d been able to remove him from harm's way. There was nothing he could do to comfort him, nothing he could say to make this any better. Just as he knew there was nothing he could do to keep his brother from diving headfirst back into the war.

Their time here would only be a respite, Bill knew that. No matter how much he wished it was otherwise. They would lick their wounds—perhaps even stay long enough to see them healed—and then they would be gone.

“I offered myself up,” Ron admitted, still staring off towards her. “She should have taken me.”

Bill didn’t ask who didn’t want to connect the dots. “You’re in love with her.”

For the first time since he’d sat down, Ron’s eyes met his and there was no hesitation, no shame. “Yeah, I reckon I am.”

“You should tell her,” Bill urged and Ron shook his head as though Bill didn’t understand. “We could all be dead tomorrow. She deserves to know, you deserve to know.”

Ron shook his head once more.

“This war might not end,” Bill tried to convince him. “And even if it does you might not live to see the end of it.”

“I know that,” Ron replied hotly. “Don’t you think I know that?”

Sometimes Bill was confident he didn’t from the way he dove recklessly into it. But he knew better than to say.

“So long as they survive, so long as she survives, and Harry, that’s all that matters.”

The night was punctuated with a tiny whimper and the anger disappeared from Ron’s face as he turned towards the sound, already on his feet. They listened, silently as the noise stopped and was replaced by slow steady breaths. Ron settled back against the landing with a soft groan and Bill took his cue to stand, his worries eased knowing that the house was being looked after.

“Ron?” he said softly, putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder so he was forced to look up at him. “Tell her, tell her and survive.”

**Author's Note:**

> Can you all believe that I've never written a Shell Cottage fic before? Yeah no, me either.


End file.
